Tonight and the Rest of My Life
by shinigami no baka
Summary: Empress reflects on the loss of her teammates and how it came to be.


Disclaimer: All DC characters belong to DC Comics. The song ' Tonight and the Rest of My Life ' belongs to Nina Gordon.   
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Down to the earth I fell   
  
With dripping wings   
  
Heavy things won't fly   
  
And the sky might catch on fire   
  
And burn the axis of the world that's why  
  
I prefer a sunless sky  
  
To the glittering and stinging in my eyes  
  
  
Anita lifted her face to the sky. Dark clouds greeted her gaze. She glanced at her teammates. Haggard and tired. They have won. For a price. They've lost two of them. Two. It wasn't fair. They've gone against him before. Well, she hasn't but the others have. So why was today so different? They've brought him down. But at the cost of three lives. Three friends. She felt tears coursing down her cheeks.  
  
  
  
I feel so light   
  
This is all I want to feel tonight.  
  
I feel so light.  
  
Tonight and the rest of my life   
  
  
The girl known as the Empress leaned back. She was so tired. Her costume was ripped into shreds. She was bleeding heavily in several places. But she was alive. It wasn't fair. She should've been the one to die. Why did he push her out of the way? She closed her eyes briefly and succumbed into the darkness.  
  
  
  
Gleaming in the dark sea  
  
I'm as light as air   
  
Floating there breathlessly  
  
When the dream dissolves I open up my eyes.  
  
I realize that   
  
Everything is a shoreless sea   
  
A weightlessness is passing over me   
  
  
Anita awoke again to the sounds of sirens. Someone was holding her hand. She moved her head slightly. It was Wonder Woman. The JLA must be here. But they've come too late. She tried to get up. Her team-mates...  
  
  
I feel so light   
  
This is all I want to feel tonight.  
  
I feel so light.  
  
Tonight and the rest of my life  
  
  
She awoke again in a hospital bed. From there, she learned the news of her team-mates. Her friends. Wonder Girl had some broken bones and a mild concussion. She will recover. Impulse will never walk again, his spine snapped in several places. He had withdrawn into himself, refusing to speak to anyone, not even his Uncle Max. Robin was in a coma. They didn't know whether he'd wake up again. And Secret... she was rendered inert. He killed her. The bastard. Their hangout had been thoroughly destroyed. Nothing was left. Except for a huge pile of rubble.  
  
  
Everything is waves and stars   
  
The universe is resting in my arms  
  
  
A couple of weeks later, she was discharged along with Cassie. Both of them looked wan and sick. Their worried parents hovered over them while they did their best to reassure them that they're fine. A shadow passed over them. It was Superman. Cassie took one look at the S symbol on Superman's chest and bursted into tears. She collapsed into her mom's arms. Tears threatened to spill on Anita's cheeks again.   
  
  
I feel so light   
  
This is all I want to feel tonight  
  
I feel so light   
  
Tonight and the rest of my life   
  
  
She hadn't been there for the funerals. The grown-ups had stood her down, saying she was too weak to stand the trip. So she was here, at their graves, to bid them a farewell. She heard a twig snap behind her. Looking at the back, she spotted Cassie, Cissie and Traya. Each of them bore a bouquet of blood-red roses. Dressed in sombre black they went and stood by her side. Tears coursing down their eyes, they laid the bouquets at rest at the three gravestones. And bid a farewell to Lobo, Suzie and Kon-El. Goodbye Lobo...  
  
  
I feel so light   
  
This is all I want to feel tonight  
  
I feel so light   
  
Tonight and the rest of my life   
  
  
The JLA released their statement today. The being known as Harm, who had gone rampaging thorough the U.S.A. killing a vast amount of innocent civilians, had been brought down by Young Justice. Anita threw the remote control at the T.V., cracking the screen. She didn't want to listen anymore. She heaved a sigh, and bit her lip, trying to control the tirade of tears threatening to spill yet again. She grabbed her jacket and went outside. It was raining. She lifted her face to the sky to feel the cold droplets fall on her face. Thunder rolled and lightning flashed across the sky. She was getting soaked. Her thoughts drifted back toward that day. It had been hell. And there was still hell to go through. But she will survive. She will not waste the second chance of life that Lobo had given her. She will be there for her friends. It was time for them to pick up the pieces and go on with their lives. Thunder and lightning rocked the skies again. Like he agreed. A small smile played on her lips as she turned back and walked toward her house. Yes, she will begin the healing. You can't dwell in the past forever.   
  
  
I feel so light   
  
This is all I want to feel tonight  
  
I feel so light   
  
Tonight and the rest of my life.  
  



End file.
